2015-05-22 Six aircraft arrived for the opening of OT-1 (first phase of operational testing) on May 18, 2015 aboard the USS Wasp. The six aircraft are from Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 501, Marine Aircraft Group 31, 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, Beaufort, South Carolina, and Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 121,…
2015-05-21 by Robbin Laird Murielle Delaporte and I had the chance to visit 2nd Marine Air Wing and MCAS Beaufort this week. I am going next week aboard the USS Wasp to watch some aspects of the sea trials of the Marines preparing for IOC of the aircraft The visit…
2015-05-09 By Robbin F. Laird In the famous opening lines of Charles Dickens Tale of Two Cities, he noted that “it was the best of times; its was the worst of times.” So it is for aircraft carriers. The critics of aircraft carriers focus on their vulnerability and the rise…
2015-05-12 By Robbin Laird The bomber has a long and distinguished history in first the Army Air Corps and then the US Air Force. When the B-17 was born, it was a controversial aircraft, which proved its worth when Nazi Germany controlled a continent and only the B-17 fleet could…
2015-04-29 John Blackburn retired as an Air Vice-Marshal in the Royal Australian Air Force in 2008 and has been involved in a number of strategic issues since then in Australia. He is currently the Deputy Chairman of the Sir Richard Williams Foundation, an Australian think tank focused on Air Power.…
2015-05-11 The Royal Australian Air Force has launched a transformation approach called Plan Jericho. The Chief of Staff has underscored that for this to work, the entire defense approach needs to embrace change under the influence of fifth generation warfare capabilities. Apparently, the Minister of Defence agrees with this approach.…
05/09/2015: At the end of March 2015, Second Line of Defense visited HMS Queen Elizabeth in Scotland. These photos were shot during the visit by the RN/RAF team and are credited to them. [maxgallery id="118173"] The first photo shows the ski jump on the flight deck for the F-35B. The…
2015-05-01 Ed Timperlake, editor of the Second Line of Defense Forum, was the last speaker of the day prior to the wrap up of the Danish airpower symposium. The title of his briefing was “Early 21st Century Warfighting Trends: Technology, Training and Tactics,” and focused on the intersection of the…
